O uso de áreas de grande altitude por Tapirus terrestris (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) na floresta atlântica meridional, Paraná, Brasil

The Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), out of the four living tapir species, has the broadest distribution. Although it naturally occurs in a variety of habitats in the Neotropics, including rainforest lowlands, gallery forests, dry chaco forests, and open grassy habitats it is currently classified as vulnerable to extinction. The Lowland Tapir is usually found near water, but there have been a few occurrence records in highland habitats. Here we report on seven records of the Lowland Tapir using highland habitats in four localities in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. Records included tracks and feces in cloud forests (1,150-1,800 m a.s.l.) and tracks in grasslands (“campos de altitude”; 1,515-1,760 m a.s.l.). Six records were obtained between spring and summer, and one during winter. Although the use of high altitude locations by the Lowland Tapir offers an additional area for population maintenance, the occurrence of the species in these areas could have been driven by increased anthropic pressures in the Atlantic Forest lowlands.Key words: Campos de altitude, cloud forest, conservation, Serra do Mar.Dentre as quatro espécies atuais de antas, Tapirus terrestris tem a mais ampla distribuição. Embora ocorra em uma variedade de ambientes no neotrópico, incluindo florestas de baixada, florestas de galeria, florestas secas do Chaco e ambientes não florestais, é atualmente classificada como vulnerável à extinção. Tapirus terrestris é encontrado geralmente perto da água, mas há poucos registros em ambientes de montanha. No presente trabalho, relatamos sete registros da espécie utilizando ambientes de altitude em quatro localidades no Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil. Os registros baseiam-se em pegadas e fezes na floresta altomontana (1150-1800 m s.n.m.) e em pegadas em campo de altitude (1515-1760 m s.n.m.). Seis registros foram obtidos entre a primavera e o verão, e um durante o inverno. Embora o uso de locais de grande altitude pela espécie ofereça uma área adicional para a manutenção de sua população regional, a sua ocorrência nestas áreas pode ter sido impulsionada pelo aumento de pressões antrópicas nas baixas altitudes da Floresta Atlântica.Palavras-chave: Campos de altitude, floresta altomontana, conservação, Serra do Ma

ATLANTIC MAMMALS

Biodiversity inventories contain important information about species richness, community structure, and composition, and are the first step in developing any conservation and mitigation strategies. The Atlantic Forest of South America is home to around 334 species of small-, medium-, and large-sized mammals, and is currently restricted to less than 12% of its original cover. Here, we present the ATLANTIC MAMMALS, an open data set on information on medium- and large-sized mammal assemblages in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. A total of 129 studies were compiled, including published and in press peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, theses and unpublished data. We mapped 244 assemblages, eight orders, 63 genera, and 94 species (24 of which are classified as threatened by the IUCN Red List) distributed in 128 protected and 116 unprotected areas. Species richness of the mammalian assemblages varied from 1 to 39 species (mean 15). The most recorded species in the entire biome was Dasypus novemcinctus, followed by Cerdocyon thous and Procyon cancrivorous. These data can be useful in support of macroecological studies and conservation planning strategies. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data